Camping in the Land Cruiser?

Dr. M · Apr 17, 2024

I just got confirmation of my Land Cruiser, First Edition, Meteor Shower. It is at the port in Oregon. Should see it in a month or two. Does anyone know the dimensions of the rear cargo area with either the second row seats tumbled forward, and/or with the second row seats folded flat? We want to know if we can fit in there, as we did with our 1999 Land Cruiser. Thanks, and good luck to all who are awaiting a LC. I was shocked to have the FE offered to me yesterday.

cruisemtb · Apr 17, 2024

Follow up thought for when people start getting theirs: look at how easy the rear seats are to remove. If it's pretty easy,removing the rear seats and building a platform to match with the cargo area floor may be the best way to get additional length and good headroom. No idea how easy or hard it will be to pull the seats though

Dr. M · Apr 17, 2024

cruisemtb said:
Follow up thought for when people start getting theirs: look at how easy the rear seats are to remove. If it's pretty easy,removing the rear seats and building a platform to match with the cargo area floor may be the best way to get additional length and good headroom. No idea how easy or hard it will be to pull the seats though

My 1999 Land Cruiser was not terribly difficult. I am thinking that laying the seats flat, rather than tumbling them forward will make it easiest for filing in the gap. Possibly even with an inflatable pad underneath our ExPed camping pad.

agjake01 · Apr 17, 2024

Dr. M said:
I just got confirmation of my Land Cruiser, First Edition, Meteor Shower. It is at the port in Oregon. Should see it in a month or two. Does anyone know the dimensions of the rear cargo area with either the second row seats tumbled forward, and/or with the second row seats folded flat? We want to know if we can fit in there, as we did with our 1999 Land Cruiser. Thanks, and good luck to all who are awaiting a LC. I was shocked to have the FE offered to me yesterday.

I’ve got a FE in Meteor Shower on the way to the Port of Portland right now - ship arrives next week.

Interested to see what aftermarket options come out for leveling the cargo area for sleeping. Also considering a hard shell RTT. Looking forward to seeing what people do with the cargo area.

IceColdNorth · Apr 18, 2024

agjake01 said:
I’ve got a FE in Meteor Shower on the way to the Port of Portland right now - ship arrives next week.

Interested to see what aftermarket options come out for leveling the cargo area for sleeping. Also considering a hard shell RTT. Looking forward to seeing what people do with the cargo area.

Let us know what you find out about this. You'll have yours long before the rest of us.

Dr. M · Apr 18, 2024

agjake01 said:
I’ve got a FE in Meteor Shower on the way to the Port of Portland right now - ship arrives next week.

Interested to see what aftermarket options come out for leveling the cargo area for sleeping. Also considering a hard shell RTT. Looking forward to seeing what people do with the cargo area.

Good morning! Have they given you dates yet for when it is expected at your dealership? Thank you.

agjake01 · Apr 18, 2024

Dr. M said:
Good morning! Have they given you dates yet for when it is expected at your dealership? Thank you.

Not yet, I emailed my salesman yesterday to see how long from port to the lot. Guessing a week or so… Will let you know!

DctrEvil · Apr 18, 2024

I've been thinking the same question... Either a temporary "rear seat delete" to allow a platform to level things out, building an elevated false floor possibly even with a not-so-deep drawer system, or even this solution from a company that makes a sleep system for Broncos. I've reached out to them to see if their current Bronco system might fit the LC or if they have plans to adapt to the new vehicle.

Here's a screen-grab of what our LC's cargo space will look like with seats folded down. The lip doesn't look too bad to overcome.

qberg · Apr 18, 2024

DctrEvil said:
I've been thinking the same question... Either a temporary "rear seat delete" to allow a platform to level things out, building an elevated false floor possibly even with a not-so-deep drawer system, or even this solution from a company that makes a sleep system for Broncos. I've reached out to them to see if their current Bronco system might fit the LC or if they have plans to adapt to the new vehicle.

View attachment 1436

Here's a screen-grab of what our LC's cargo space will look like with seats folded down. The lip doesn't look too bad to overcome.
View attachment 1437

I think that we should be able to to build a slight platform that flattens out the seatback to cargo area. I usually camp in mine solo, so I'd want to build something on the 60 side to make that seatback to cargo area completely flat and then tumble the 40 side up so I have somewhere to put my feet when I'm sitting on the 60 seatback.

My current 4Runner has the sliding cargo deck, so I have a 100% flat cargo area when I have the 2nd row folded. The issue is that the length from the bottom of the tumbled seat bottom to the tailgate is like 5'9". So just enough space for me to sleep. With a very minor platform, I think the Land Cruiser (and 5th gen 4Runner HEV) could be great for car camping.

agjake01 · Apr 18, 2024

DctrEvil said:
I've been thinking the same question... Either a temporary "rear seat delete" to allow a platform to level things out, building an elevated false floor possibly even with a not-so-deep drawer system, or even this solution from a company that makes a sleep system for Broncos. I've reached out to them to see if their current Bronco system might fit the LC or if they have plans to adapt to the new vehicle.

View attachment 1436

Here's a screen-grab of what our LC's cargo space will look like with seats folded down. The lip doesn't look too bad to overcome.
View attachment 1437

I have an inflatable Deep Sleep for my Jeep JKU and it’s fantastic, great quality. I’d definitely buy one if they made a custom mattresses for the LC.

agjake01 · Apr 18, 2024

qberg said:
I think that we should be able to to build a slight platform that flattens out the seatback to cargo area. I usually camp in mine solo, so I'd want to build something on the 60 side to make that seatback to cargo area completely flat and then tumble the 40 side up so I have somewhere to put my feet when I'm sitting on the 60 seatback.

My current 4Runner has the sliding cargo deck, so I have a 100% flat cargo area when I have the 2nd row folded. The issue is that the length from the bottom of the tumbled seat bottom to the tailgate is like 5'9". So just enough space for me to sleep. With a very minor platform, I think the Land Cruiser (and 5th gen 4Runner HEV) could be great for car camping.

I’d be interested in seeing your sliding cargo deck. Would a similar one completely level the space in the LC?

Dr. M · Apr 18, 2024

agjake01 said:
Not yet, I emailed my salesman yesterday to see how long from port to the lot. Guessing a week or so… Will let you know!

Wonderful! Yes, please do let me know. I would truly appreciate it. Thank you!

Dr. M · Apr 18, 2024

DctrEvil said:
I've been thinking the same question... Either a temporary "rear seat delete" to allow a platform to level things out, building an elevated false floor possibly even with a not-so-deep drawer system, or even this solution from a company that makes a sleep system for Broncos. I've reached out to them to see if their current Bronco system might fit the LC or if they have plans to adapt to the new vehicle.

View attachment 1436

Here's a screen-grab of what our LC's cargo space will look like with seats folded down. The lip doesn't look too bad to overcome.
View attachment 1437

Very helpful. I don’t think you would lose too much length if you just rolled the seats. Should be pretty easy to come up with an inflatable solution to the gap. All the best,

DctrEvil · Apr 18, 2024

I can't wait to see what the creative community starts to come up with and this forum will become a great place to share our ideas and builds! I'm thinking a shallow deck/floor up to the back of the folded seats that would allow pull-out drawers for storage and/or a cooking surface. Or as mentioned above, a bed on the 60% side with a sliding drawer and fridge slide on the 40% side!

I'm thinking something really shallow to raise the floor to the level of the folded seats, but not use up too much space...
Like these plans on Etsy

or fun to brainstorm with other ideas!

qberg · Apr 18, 2024

agjake01 said:
I’d be interested in seeing your sliding cargo deck. Would a similar one completely level the space in the LC?

Mine is the optional factory cargo deck. My previous 4Runner didn’t have it and that meant the cargo floor was about 2-3” lower than the folded seatback.

solidbrix · Apr 18, 2024

Anybody considering a rooftop tent? My allocation has cross bars optioned in, I've looked into Roofnest before...

Dr. M · Apr 18, 2024

solidbrix said:
Anybody considering a rooftop tent? My allocation has cross bars optioned in, I've looked into Roofnest before...I

solidbrix said:
Anybody considering a rooftop tent? My allocation has cross bars optioned in, I've looked into Roofnest before...

I have looked into them, but, at 66 years old, I’m not sure how I would get our 65 pound Standard Poodle up there!! Let us know what you decide. There are some nice ones out of Australia. The brand name slips my mind.

solidbrix · Apr 18, 2024

Dr. M said:
I have looked into them, but, at 66 years old, I’m not sure how I would get our 65 pound Standard Poodle up there!! Let us know what you decide. There are some nice ones out of Australia. The brand name slips my mind.

I've got a 70 pound Golden Retriever, so I feel you there.

agjake01 · Apr 18, 2024

Dr. M said:
Wonderful! Yes, please do let me know. I would truly appreciate it. Thank you!

Talked to the dealer today, he said the ship is showing as arriving to port (Portland) on the 24th. The computer shows it to the dealership on 5/1. Salesman said that could be a couple days earlier if the ship comes in early.

agjake01 · Apr 18, 2024

solidbrix said:
Anybody considering a rooftop tent? My allocation has cross bars optioned in, I've looked into Roofnest before...

Yes - I’m thinking of putting a knock off Roofnest on top and saving a couple grand. Some good reviews on YouTube comparing the two -

Galaxy 1.0 Rooftop tent from TopOak

Aluminum hard shell rooftop tent with expandable extra head room only $1299?

topoakoverland.com

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